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ACTOR fund disbursement to start

LOS ANGELES, Calif., – November 1, 2001 – ACTOR (A Commitment To Our Roots),
a non-profit organization dedicated to helping older comic creators in need,
announced today that that it has passed all legal muster and is ready to
start disbursing funds. In an effort to aid in that disbursement, Charlie
Novinskie has been appointed as the non-voting secretary to ACTOR’s
Disbursement Committee. Novinskie will handle all paperwork and trafficking
of votes to aid the Disbursement Committee in selecting worthy recipients.

Novinskie will also handle “discovery” for the Disbursement Committee.
Potential recipient applicants to ACTOR are encouraged to contact Novinskie
at 625 Colony Rd., Clifton, CO 81520; or call at 970-523-3575.

“I couldn’t name a more worthwhile cause to be involved with,” said
Novinskie. “Reading and collecting comics my entire life not only allowed me
to work in the industry professionally, but also instilled in me a lifelong
passion for reading that has benefited me in every aspect of my life.”

Charlie Novinskie has been a San Diego con organizer for years, and formerly
worked as the sales and promotion manager and editor at Topps Comics. He now
does PR for Cracked magazine, and has started a company called Ground Zero
that manufactures limited-edition lithographs. “We all owe the early pioneers
in the comic industry our deepest thanks for the pleasure they’ve provided us
over the years,” Novinskie concluded. “This is my way to give back to them in
some way.”

About ACTOR.

ACTOR, (A Commitment to Our Roots) is dedicated to providing relief and
support to many of the talented creators who helped found the comic book
industry. The organization is based on the premise that many Golden Age or
Silver Age creators toiled in comics earlier days for low pay and with a
nonexistent pension plan. Very often, writers would work for a penny a word,
or artists for $5 a page with no chance of ownership and no pension. Today,
many of these people who laid the groundwork that today’s comic industry
works on may be in financial need. Be it due to age, health, or lack of
retirement plans, they may need a hand. ACTOR provides a safety net for
former comic creators in need. ACTOR is dedicated to helping creators with
emergency medical aid, financial support, and entrance back into paying work.
ACTOR’s 501 (c) (3) paperwork was approved by the federal government in
February, 2001, making it an official non-profit organization.

ACTOR is served by two boards of directors. Jim McLauchlin of Wizard
Entertainment, Mark Alessi of CrossGen Comics, Brian Pulido of Chaos! Comics,
Pat McCallum of Wizard Entertainment, Joe Quesada of Marvel Comics, Michael
Richardson of Dark Horse Comics and Jim Valentino of Image Comics comprise
the Executive/Fund Raising Board which administers all the fund’s operations
and raises money. Dick Giordano, Joe Kubert, Dennis O’Neil, George Perez,
John Romita Sr., and Roy Thomas make up a peer group Fund Disbursement Board
that will hear petitions and disburse funds to worthy applicants. Perez and
Thomas are the Co-chairs of that board.